UBC day 12- Art thou healthy?

I met a close friend last month, and as is the norm, I asked her, “How are you?” fully aware of what the standard reply would be. I was expecting an - ‘I’m fine’ reply but she zapped me by launching into a detailed account of why she wasn’t entirely fine. She began with ‘now that you ask’ and went on to tell me how she had been diagnosed with diabetes and how the stress of not being able to eat what she wanted was getting to her, and ending it but not before letting me know how her health check-ups and medications were eating into her finances.

That got me into thinking what actually defines good health. It brought to my mind the inland letters and postcards (that are completely redundant today!) that I used to write to my cousins and friends beginning with “I trust this letter finds you in the pink of heath and spirits.” Apparently, good health did not just mean being physically healthy, it also meant being healthy in spirits, the meaning of which had not been evident then!

What then comprises ‘good health’?

1.Physical health
Does good health mean being in great shape, being physically active and healthy? You bet it does. So how would you know that you are physically healthy? What a silly question to ask, you may say. You are right partially, because, physical health is the most visible form of being healthy. If you aren’t suffering from any of those life threatening health issues, you are fairly healthy!

But like they say, things are not what they seem to be, you might have to scratch a little below the surface to know what risks you may be prone to in the future, even if you seem quite healthy today. What then is the mantra for good physical health?

1.Get your routine health check-ups done- knowledge is always strength.
2.Eating right  is not rocket science. Our ancestors have been eating healthy forever! You don’t need fancy diets, just eat what your mother and granny always told you to!
3. Exercise and get proper rest- sleep for at least 6 hours if not more and exercise for at least half an hour each day.

2.Mental Health
This is as important as physical health. Stress, anger and hostility form a deadly mixture that is detrimental to the mind and to the body. Stress puts your body into a flight-or-fight mode and the constant pile up of stress never lets the stress hormone drop below ‘crisis’ level in your blood. Most of us are monumentally stressed, but we do not even realize how many tiny, inconsequential stresses keep annoying us every day.

There are many ways to de-stress yourself. Breathing properly is itself a huge stress reliever, but we do not realize that more often than not, we breath incorrectly, taking shallow breaths instead of deep cleansing ones! Take deep breaths, stretch your neck, relax your muscles, and meditate. There are other techniques like, visualizing a peaceful scene, listening to music, getting into a steam bath, spending time with pets, etc. Each one may have their idea of stress-busters, the only thing left to do, is actually getting down to doing THAT!

3.Social health
With the advent of technology, it has become more convenient to keep in touch with friends, you may say. It has become easier to meet each other on ‘Facebook’ rather than face to face! So where does that leave room for social interaction? Remember those times in school and college when unburdening your problems was so simple! You just had to talk to your best friend and Voila! They always had a solution to the most difficult problems! Does the joy of having a heart to heart talk with a few friends compare with posting your pictures in the most exotic place you have visited and getting a hundred comments on it? Is that all conversation is restricted to now?

With the kind of work we do, it becomes difficult to meet friends and relatives every day, but it isn’t impossible, is it? Add a little bit of socializing (and I do not mean partying when I say that!) to your life and you would realize how it adds to your good health!

4.Spiritual heath
I am definitely not hinting at going to astrologers or gurus! Whatever your faith, follow it and apply its essence to your life. If you do not follow any particular faith, accentuate positivity in your life in every way you can. This helps to keep anger, depression, pessimism, anxiousness and fear away from your life and probably also add a few years to it.

5.Financial health
Even if you have managed to take care of all other factors, you may still not be in good health, if your finances continue to trouble you. Whatever your income, whatever your expenditure, plan your finances well. Make saving a habit, it could be by way of mutual funds, fixed deposits or buying gold or land. However small the amount, commit to saving it religiously. It is not for nothing that they say, every tiny drop makes the mighty ocean and every grain of sand makes the vast desert.

So go ahead, pave your own way to “good health”, and the next time someone asks you how you are, make sure you are truly in very “good health”.

UBC day 11- Baba Gyaneshwar!

The little one is quite witty. He often stumps me with his one liners. I wonder if he is a born humorist! When he says those punch lines, he says it with a straight face and then bursts out laughing. He is that good!

Yesterday, I was teaching him spellings.

"A" for...?

"Apple..." pat came the reply.

"Good..Spell it..."

"A-P-P-L-E"

Like wise we went on with B for Boy to E for Egg. Then we came to F.

"F for...?"

"Fish".

"How do you spell it?"

"I don't know. You tell."

They had been taught that just a day before, so I decided to help him.

"F-I-S-H..... now repeat..."

"F-I-F-H"

"F-I-S-H, Chiku."

"F-I-H-H"

"listen carefully now, F-I-S-H"

"F-I-S-S"

Was he doing it purposely to annoy me, I wondered. 

"One last time, baby, It's S-H. How do you spell fish?"

"S-H."

I could have torn my hair.

"Chiku, last time now, concentrate. F-I-S-H. ok?" I stressed every word clearly. "Now tell me, how do you spell fish?"

"A-P-P-L-E."

Did you know Fish could be spelt like that too?

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I have this habit of making my kids eat by telling them stories about why it's good for them. When they have to eat carrots, I tell them that it has vitamin A and how Vitamin A will go to the tummy and crawl into the blood and settle in a small chair behind the eyes, so that they can see well.... (yea, yea.... that is the kind of stories I have to tell them....but it works....!!!!) You'll be amazed at how well my kids know which food contains what.

Today, the little one happened to see a packet of glucose while the fridge door was open.

"Mamma, I want Blucon D" he started.

"There's nothing in that..." I reasoned.

"There is. See it says on the label. It has vitamin D."

Jai ho baba gyaneshwar!!

Did you know Glucose contained Vitamin D?

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After dinner last night, I told the elder one to switch off the lights of all the rooms before he came to sleep. He did as told but forgot about the lights in the veranda.

"Dada," he called his brother, "Will the lights in the veranda switch off by themselves?"

Wonder where he comes up with all that!! 

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"Mamma, You put two forks in my fruit box today" he told me.

 I searched his bag but there was just one fork in it.

"There's just one here.Where's the other?" I asked him.

"I gave it to Abhinav, he said he doesn't have forks at home."

 Does he think he is Danveer Karna!! Fancy donating my cutlery like that! 

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UBC day 10- Getting a Tattoo....

that's my tattoo...

We celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary last year. I wanted to do something special to commemorate our special day. That's when I thought of getting a tattoo. I scoured the net for appropriate designs and consulted friends who already had tattoos. Finally I zeroed in on a lovely red heart with a ribbon running through the center....I decided to get hubby's name inscribed on it.

As the time for my appointment neared, the palpitations grew and I wondered if everyone around me could hear my heart thump as loudly as it was!! All that fearlessness had managed to drown in a sea of self doubt. At the last minute, I changed my mind, and decided to chuck the heart and just inscribe his name on my arm like an armband. The artist showed me several styles on his computer and I finally settled for hubby's name in a Gothic font.

The tattoo artist made the imprint on a piece of sticker and as I saw how big it looked I felt that distinct thumping all over again! I wondered if it would pain too much, will I be able to sit still for that long, what if I decide to give up in between....! And while I was lost in all that thought, he asked me where I would like to put it.  I squirmed like a worm that's just been dug out of its safe hiding place in the ground by a little school boy.... "Err..I would like to look at some other designs, Bhaiya", I said hardly audible. He gave me a my-time-is-too-precious look that I can never forget. While I expected him to throw me out, he handed me some books nevertheless. I flipped through his books and tried to figure what would hurt the least!

Finally, I saw this little "S" that looked quite cute! Hubby's initials...Perfect! "Bhaiya, this one", I proudly showed him. He gave me a weird all-that-drama-for-nothing look..I didn't look at him after that! He quickly made the design and I showed him my upper arm. Surprisingly, it didn't pain as much as I had imagined!

Hubby was totally touched and I thought I saw a little tear form in his eyes....(nah..I made that up!)

That's how I got my first tattoo. I say 'first' because, I now want another one. And this time it'll be for me. A butterfly is what I want. Symbolic of my name....maybe by my birthday!

UBC day 9 -The fire that rages within - part 2

Read part 1 here

He met the caretaker the next day.

“Jaggu Bhai,” said Arun, “I wanted to know if Bittu has been in a fire accident ever? The boy seems pretty scared of fire.”

“Never. Though he would often wake up perspiring and shout for his mother.”

“He knows who his mother is?”

“How could he? He was 6 months old when someone left him at our door.”

This wasn’t leading him anywhere. He decided to meet Bittu’s close buddies.

“Chintu, Motu, do you know why Bittu is so scared of fire?” he asked the two boys.

They looked at each other and then at him.

“He would often say his mother died in a fire” said little Chintu.

Arun froze temporarily as if he had been hit by a light pole.

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The heat was unbearable. The curtains and upholstery had caught fire. The whole building was on fire. He was screaming for help but there was no one to save him. He was slowly losing consciousness and slipping into a deep sleep.

Bittu got up with a start. It was that nightmare again. It had been recurring with an alarming frequency.  Bittu looked around. It was terribly dark. All he could hear was the thumping of his own heart. He had thought that coming to a new place would rid him of his nightmare, but he was so wrong. His nightmare had recurred thrice in 3 days. That was bad. In fact, he hated this family. All that love seemed so hollow. He wanted to run away.

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“I don’t think adopting this little boy was the right idea” confessed Arun to his friend.

“Maybe you are right. But you know why you adopted him, isn’t it?”

He did.

He had been having recurring nightmares too. That woman had tried strangulating him so many times before. You killed my son, now I’ll kill you, she threatened.  He had woken up gasping for breath, each time pleading to be forgiven. As atonement for his sins, he decided to adopt a little orphan boy and bring him up.

It had not taken much to convince his wife. Their own son was terminally ill. She would need another child to direct her affection to after he was gone.

But now he wondered if Bittu was indeed that child he had mistakenly burnt when he put Sarla on fire. Had he come back?

He had always suspected Sarla, his first wife, of having an affair with his best friend. He had left her soon after Raghu was born as he had been convinced Raghu was not his son. A few years later, someone had told him that she was about to marry that friend. In a fit of rage, he had set her on fire with the help of his friends. But he had not realized that Raghu had perished in that fire too. He had later married Smita but by a cruel twist of fate, his own son was now terminally ill.

His hands trembled as he thought of it now, and to calm his nerves, he lit a cigarette and propped it into his mouth.

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Bittu picked up his little bag, slung it across his shoulders and crept outside in the darkness. He saw a figure standing in the veranda, smoking a cigarette. He had to cross that way in order to get out. As he crouched and walked he kept his gaze steady on that figure. As he streamed closer, he realized it was Sahay. He didn’t want to be seen. And then his eyes fell on the hands. He stood frozen in fear! They were the same hairy hands that he had seen strangulating his mother. He trembled with trepidation, perspiring, in spite of the coolness of the breeze. He looked closer. Unmistakably, the same bracelet hung loosely from his wrist. An ‘A’ overlapping an ‘S’. 

Then he saw the cigarette butt fall from the hairy hands. It fell at his feet. He picked it up and walked around the house putting every curtain on fire. He stood near Sahay’s bedroom and threw the butt on his bed. Then he swiftly walked away without looking back.

Aided by the breeze, the fire had caught on and had ravaged like a wild beast. He could hear screams but he dared not look back. The morning broke with the terrible news of how the Sahay villa had suddenly caught fire and how poor Mr.Sahay and an unknown person had perished in the fire. Mrs. Sahay and her son had miraculously escaped, but there was no news of the little orphan boy they had adopted. Maybe he died too.

                                               ***************the end*****************

This story won the second highest score in the total points tally!!!

UBC day 8 -The fire that rages within.

This is also my entry for the IBL at writeupcafe and also won me the IBL Booker prize for it!! Yay!!

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The winter had gotten too cold for comfort.

“Let me get this fire burning,” said Sahay, as he walked to the fireplace. “It’ll keep us warm.”

 Bittu sat huddled on the farthest corner of the couch. He was already feeling quite warm in the oversized pullovers of Sahay’s son. This was actually the warmest he had ever felt. His previous winters had all been spent huddled together with Chintu and Motu under one tattered blanket that Jaggu dada had given them. It had just been a few days since he had been adopted by the Sahay’s but he already missed his bosom buddies. He wondered how Chintu and Motu were coping with his absence. Were they missing him too? Jaggu Dada was not the kindest of caretakers but Bittu had always felt at home at the orphanage. He had lived there ever since he was born.

“Ah! Here we go!” said Sahay as the fire leapt up from the logs.

“No!” screamed Bittu closing his eyes and covering his face as soon as the first flame leapt up in the fireplace.

“Are you ok son?” asked Mrs. Sahay gently caressing his hair.

Bittu did not reply. He ran out of the room and hid under the staircase. Mrs. Sahay found him weeping copiously and shivering with fright.

“Oh, you poor baby,” she said pulling him out of his hiding hole. “Did something scare you child?”

No answer. Just a few more sniffles.

“It’s ok. Let me put you to bed. You’ll feel better.” And with that she led him to his room and tucked him into bed.

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Two men stood by the door blocking the exit. Two others had pinned his mother down and he saw her struggling to break loose. One of them had covered her mouth with his big hairy hand and held her hands together with the other. A bracelet hung loosely from his wrist, something like an ‘A” overlapping an ‘S” in gold at the center. The other accomplice was pouring some liquid on her clothes. He saw her eyes turn red….very red, before they eventually bulged out and she stopped struggling. There was a collective round of laughter and then the man with the hairy hands took out a match box from his pockets. He lit a cigarette and propped it into his mouth and threw the lit matchstick on one end of his mother’s saree. A huge ball of flame suddenly engulfed his mother’s body and he saw the four guys running out of his house.

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“Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa………”

An ear splitting scream rented the air and almost jolted the Sahay’s out of bed. Mrs. Sahay rushed to Bittu’s room. He was sitting up, staring in to space, beads of perspiration running down his forehead.

“What happened? Did you see a bad dream?”

He sat like a rock.

“Here, drink some water,” she prodded, pushing a glass of water into his little hands.

“Why don’t you sleep next to him Arun,” she asked her husband.

“No, I’m ok” said the little boy.

“Sleep tight little one, we’ll all go camping tomorrow. You enjoy that.” said Mrs. Sahay, pulling the sheets over him and gently placing a kiss on his forehead.

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The forest was beginning to get denser.

“Let’s camp here. I don’t want to go further in.” protested Sahay’s son. “It’s getting scarier too.”

They set up their camps on the banks of a stream nearby while Sahay piled up the wood for the campfire. Bittu watched him nervously as he lit the fire and put on the music. The sight of the fire leaping up and dancing in the gentle breeze was intimidating and Bittu’s face drained of colour.

“No fire...No fire… put it out…put it out…” he screamed waving his hands frantically.

“It’s going to be cold soon, son, we’ll need it to stay warm” he reasoned.

Bittu began sobbing uncontrollably and Mrs. Sahay forced her husband to put it out and suggested that they head back home.

What’s with this boy, wondered Arun, as he doused the fire that had taken so long to ignite. He is just ten, but terribly scared of something. I must find out. Could he have been in an accident? Probably a fire accident?

                                       **************to be cont****************

Read Part 2 here.